Art of finishing cut-pile rug or carpet fabrics.



D. H. STHOUD. ART OF FINISHING CUT PILE RUG 0R CARPET FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. ,I9I5.

ICI 1Q? DAVID H.sTnoUD,o rHitADELrHIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

ART OF FINISHING CUT PILE RUG 0R CARPET FABRICS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

Application filed July 30, 1915. Serial No. 42,672.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DAVID H. S'rnoUD, ofPhiladelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of'Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art ofFinishing Cut-Pile Rug or Carpet Fabrics, whereof the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In said drawings, I have illustrated diagrammatically the conditionswhich attend different stages in my process, but it must.

be understood that the illustrations are largely symbolic, and areintended only for explanatory purposes, as distinguished from beingaccurate illustrations of actual fabric. Each of said drawings is anexaggerated cross sectional view through a portion of a rug fabric,indicating conventionally some ofthe physical features as they exist atse lected periods, or steps. in the course of treatment.

Thus. Figure I, indicates the fabric in its initial condition, 0., afterthe operations of weaving and cutting of the pile have been performed;Fig. II, indicates the conditions at the conclusion of the washing step;Fig. III, indicates the conditions at the conclusion of the scrapingstep; Fig; IV, indicates the finished article.

My invention is especially contemplated for use in connection withwoolen chenille pile fabrics, though not necessarily restricted,thereto. Its object is to give a peculiar soft finish comparable to thatfound in the finest type of antique oriental rugs, the sharpness ofdistinction between the original colors of the dye being somewhatmodified, the pile being definitely alined in an inclined direction, andthe surface manifesting a satiny luster.

In order to appreciate the nature of the treatment, it is necessary tounderstand certain structural conditions as they exist in a cut pilefabric comprising'wool fibers, a chenille rug being the most typical onefor present consideration.

In Fig. I, representing the untreated fabric, 1, and 2, indicaterespectively two sets of tufts of the pile, having contrasting, ormarkedly distinctive, colors, as conventionally represented by the darkshading of the tuft 1, and the absence of shading of the tuft 2. Theweft threads 4, and warp threads 5; and 6, may be of any desiredcharacter. Upon a careful examination of such a fabric it will be foundthat many integral fibers of the individual tufts lie haphazard,although there is a general slight inclination of the tufts themselvesin one direction, as indicated. It will also be found that many loosefibers are disposed among the coherent ones of the tufts, as indicatedin a conventional manner at 3. These fibers will be found to be highlyirregular in size and to vary in color, since they have become detachedfrom most of the different colored yarns employed in the weaving. Theymay be likened to a tangle of loose brush and fallen branches in aforest whereof the tufts constitute the main trees. It will also befound that usually there are small particles of dye stufl entangledamong the fibers.

Assuming the fabric to be in the condition described, I subject it to abath of strong soap and water, in which it is actively scrubbed andbrushed, preferably by means of heavy stiff brooms, such as those'employed in street cleaning. The scrubbing is conducted in alldirections and it is persisted in until the loose fibers are to a greatextent removed. While this is its main purpose, the washing and violentrubbing tends to modify some or all of the dyes employed, thus toningdown the original sharpness of the colors. I prefer to conclude thisscrub-' bing operation by brushing the fabric for a time continuously inthe direction of original inclination of the pile tufts, so as toemphasize their leaning in that direction.

Fig. II, represents symbolically the condition of the fabric at theconclusion of the wet scrubbing operation, where .the original tufts 1,and 2, have become somewhat modified in color, the' altered conditionbeing conventionally indicated at 12, and 22, respectively. The loosefibers have been largely removed and, to the extent that they remain atall, are mostly those which lie at the bottom of the tufts, as indicatedat 32. The rug is then placed upon a table, or flat surface, where it isscraped, preferably by means of blocks covered with sandpaper. Thisscraping is preferably effected throughout, substantially in thedirection oforiginal inclination 'of the tufts, but in any event shouldbe conducted by application in that direction. Its main purpose andeffect are to straighten out the fibers of the individual tufts, whichare usually more or less bound together, and to lay them over in generalalinement. It thus advantageously modifies the color effect and alsoemphasizes the leaning of the tufts in the same general direction.Furthermore, it tends to remove the remaining loose fibers, so that forconventional purposes, the fabric, represented in Fig. III, may beconsidered as free from the original loose fibers, the tufts 1-3, and23, being now formed almost completely of integral fibers straightenedout and lying in the same inclined direction. Thereafter the face of thefabric is pressed by means of heavy hot irons, the movement thereofbeing continuous in the direction of original inclination of the tufts,and the ironing process being prolonged until the fibers have beendefinitely alined and their ends have been turned over, forming aflattened and somewhat dense layer, as compared with the up standing andtangled condition originally existing in the pile. After being subjectedto this treatment, it will be found that the appearance of a rug whoseinitial colors were markedly distinct, or even harshly con- V trasted,has become softened throughout it by the dulling of the respectivecolors and the alinement of the fibers, and moreover, that the surfacepossesses a satiny luster comparable to that of a very fine antiqueoriental rug.

I am aware that it is not new to treat rugs with soap and water, andthat this washing has been used to a limited extent with a view tomodifying the original dyes, or at any rate with that result. Suchtreatment, however, has not, so far as I am aware, been pushed to thepoint where substantially complete removal of the superficial loosefibers is effected, nor has such removal been recognized as adesideratum. Moreover, such Washlng operation has not been followed bythe organized scraping and ironing steps, which constitute essentialfeatures in my process.

Having thus described my invention, I claim The hereinbefore describedimprovement in the art of finishing cut pile rugs, or carpet fabrics,which consists in, first, subjecting the fabric to a bath of strong soapand water and persistently scrubbing it therein, the scrubbing movementbeing applied substantially in all directions across the surface; thenscraping the fibers continuously in one direction, by means of sand,paper, or the like, until the retained fibers DAVID H. STROUD.

WVitnesses: ,JAMES H. BELL,

E. L. FULLERTON.

